Of course the stark difference between Mirrors and Ivan's Childhood is that Mirrors is a non-narrative film while Ivan's Childhood is a narrative film. Also, Tarkovsky is establishing two very different feelings and ideas the correlate to the movie. In Mirrors, he wants us to pull out a broad idea of various situations that had influenced a childs life while in Ivan's Childhood we are more focused on the hardships of one child, Ivan.
The two films are similar in that they both are partially motivated by events happening during WWII. I also noticed similar "symbols" (although Tarkovsky didn't believe in symbols) such as water, fire, wind, and the continually shots of the natural surrondings. My favorite scene was after Kholin goes to fetch the boat after they drop off Ivan on the German front lines when they focus on the horizon of slim trees in the water. Tarkovsky also incorporates mirrors in the film. I noticed that when Galtsev and Ivan were seriously talking we saw the image of Galtsev which could represent that are certain characteristics/morals that both Ivan and Galtsev share.
I also really enjoyed Ivan's character. He was such a pure soul. I believe this is why Tarkovsky choose to focus the film on a child rather than any other soldier fighting the war. He had such superior morals and morale compared to the other men that were left in care of him. I believe this is something that Tarkovsky truly believes in. When we watched the interview with him, he mentions that people need to "...learn to love solitude. The individual needs to be alone as his own child. " He also says that the more knowledge you accumulate the less you know. Both of these ideas are fufilled through Ivan's character.
Overall, I really enojoyed this film. It featured interesting/multiple plots, varying camera angles, and had a strong focus on the comradery obtained on the front lines.
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You're right, that shot with those slim dead trees in the midground of the swamp is really something.
ReplyDeleteAlso very interesting what you note about mirrors in the film. Have noticed a bit of that myself--but I'll most certainly pay more attention to it the next time I watch the film.
For reasons I don't quite understand, the more I watch the film the more I like Kholin and the less I like Galtsev (whereas my attitudes after my initial viewing were nearly the reverse).
I want to agree with you about Ivan bein a "pure soul," but at the same time I think one can see him as a sort of disabused, disenchanted "broken" child. Perhaps it's more in the dreams that we see his pure side--or do those dreams perhaps instead show us what he *might* have been had there been no war?
I too enjoyed Ivan! He just stood up to anyone that got in his way! I also agree with you on the camera angles! I noticed that and thats one thing that really stood out to me over some of the other films we have watched in class.
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